Economics
Asia Surviving Europe ‘Stress Test’ Boosts Case for Upgrade
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Asian economies are withstanding Europe’s debt crisis so well that some investors are positioning for credit-rating upgrades in the region.
Five-year credit-default swaps for China, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand climbed an average 65 basis points to 163 this year, while contracts for 17 eurozone countries, excluding Greece, jumped 122 to 305. Moody’s Investors Service is watching the trading in the swaps, which protect against non-payment, and how Asia copes with capital flows as it weighs rating changes, said Thomas Byrne, a senior vice president at Moody’s in Singapore.